pinkbirdflies

Dinner with Jo, Chris and Ros at the TAFE Graduates Restaurant…good to see everyone and remember out tour of Turkey and stay on Paxos!

So good to be home…weather is warming up , the ocean looks good and everything is just moving along nicely. Celebrated belatedly Steph’s 21st Birthday with my family at Grandma and Grandpop’s house at Bonny Hills with the famous fish and chip dinner and Leigh organised a cake…Reanna was there too!

Landed in Sydney and somehow made the flight on Qantas back to Port Macquarie where I was welcomed home with beautiful flowers by Mum and Steph…Shane even waved the plane in! Had lunch at Bittersweet in lighthouse and my first decent coffee…Belaroma, Strong flat white extra hot…Flat whites are truly Australian!

Flew from Salzburg to Duselldorf to Stansted where Roseanne picked me up for the last weekend in the United Kingdom. Floyd came down to spend the weekend and and it was lovely to all be together and Floyd joining in with the kids!  Roseanne baked her wonderful roast chicken dinner with ‘ah Bisto’ gravy as well as a special request dinner of salt marsh lamb! We lunched at the seafront before Roseanne drove me to Heathrow where I left on my ‘Upper class’ Virgin Atlantic flight home to Australia, not before sampling the delights of the Lounge which was an amazing space of restaurant, bars, massage, hair and beauty therapy…Goodbye Europe, it has been 8 months that has exceeded my expectations!

Train from Vienna to Salzburg….The Sound of Music and birthplace of Mozart!! 

Shonbrunn Palace was beautiful inside the state rooms and the grounds just lovely…sampled some of the finest Viennese apple strudel and a ‘Melange’ coffee (double shot cappuccino) to get the energy to explore the Belvedere Palace which had a beautiful collection of Klimt paintings on display in the gallery, including The Kiss, Girlfriends and Judith. Lovely dinner overlooking the lights of Vienna.

Took a train from Budapest in Hungary across the countryside to Austria and the city of Vienna…used the Hop on Hop off bus to get an overview of the sights and monuments of this beautiful city…explored the most unusual Museum which included the Photographic exhibition of Linda McCartney, before tackling the biggest Wiener Schnitzels at Figmueller which is famous for them!

Spent the morning taking the waters of the Gellert thermal baths including the hottest steam room I have ever been in….the baths are old, famous and ornately tiled. Spent the afternoon on a Segway tour ‘hooning’ around the central city sights which was really good fun. Checked out one of the ‘Ruin Bars’ in the old Jewish quarter…very funky and happening! An amazing culture has developed in Budapest post communism and the city has a great vibe, good food and drink and friendly people embracing’western, capitalist’ culture and way of life.

Checked into the Danubius Gellert Hotel on the banks of the Danube, an amazing palatial building with interiors untouched from the sixties I’m sure…got the grand suites and all..feeling very posh by Budapest standards! Cate, Jenny’s friend from France, joined us for the weekend….visited the central market with all its paprika and sausage displayed! Explored Buda Castle Hill and had an exceptional wine tasting experience including ‘ice wine’. Hungarian wines ar e very good indeed. 

Explored shops.. got a great haircut…St Stephen’s Basilica with the Black Madonna and the Budapest Buddha Bar and night lights..